hyperventilating/asthma - Asthma Message Board

Danitom · 02-02-2004, 07:50 AM

As some of you know I had a daughter just recently diagnosed with allergic asthma.......well, this is concering her older sister.............

She is 8. She was playing basketball. She all of a sudden looked over at me and said I can't breath. They had less than a minute left in that period so she played it out. When they took a break she went to the bench, sat down, and immediatly started crying (which is NOT like her) she was breathing very rapidly and was saying her throat was"clogged up" and she was going to pass out and was scared. We tried for about 15 minutes to calm her down but it was only getting worse. We took her to the ER where they told us she was hyperventilating. Too much oxygen(her pulse ox was 100) and not enough carbon dioxide......they gave her a shot of Adavan(sp?) to calm her down which helped........and she went to sleep and has seemed fine since..... I am pretty sure it is NOT asthma related because if it was the Adavan would not have calmed it down but I was curious if this could be something that is related to asthma in any way?

jerrie97 · 02-02-2004, 11:59 AM

What did your discharge sheet say? Hyperventilation, hyperventilation syndrome, anxiety? Anything like that? Because that's what it sounds like, especially since the Ativan helped. Did she have stridor (a crowing noise in her throat)? Something else it might be, based on the way she told you her throat was "clogged up", is vocal cord dysfunction. VCD is often misdiagnosed as asthma because of wheezing and everything, but it happens when the vocal cords spasm and don't allow air to get through. It's usually caused by anxiety, but things that irritate the vocal cords, such as acid reflux disease, may also cause it. VCD can't be caused intentionally. Now, I'm not saying run out and consult a psychiatrist for her unless this becomes a big problem - it may just be an isolated incident. You don't really have to worry about her passing out though, unless this is totally unrelated to anxiety. The high oxygen levels get to her brain and give off a feeling that she'll faint.

One other thing I thought of...
Have you been giving your other daughter (the one with asthma) a lot of attention lately? I know it's probably really hard to give both of them the same amount of attention lately since your daughter has been ill with bronchitis, asthma and everything. I'm just thinking that maybe this was triggered by her sister being sick. I don't know though, it might not have been.

hc85 · 02-02-2004, 01:50 PM

The inability to breathe is a scary one, whether or not is caused by asthma. Maybe, in fact, she does have vocal cord dysfunction or acid reflux. Sit down with her and ask her about it. Ask her how it made her feel, ask her how it makes her feel when her sister is sick, ask her what was the scariest part, do some parent/daughter thing with her. Most of all, don't make a huge deal out of it. I hate, hate, hate it when parents make a big deal out of me not being able to breathe. I mean, acknowledege it, but don't coddle her. At least, that's my opinion. I HATE to be coddled. It drives my mom crazy because that's her natural thing to want to do, and I want to be my own independent person.

PinkBanana · 02-02-2004, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danitom

As some of you know I had a daughter just recently diagnosed with allergic asthma.......well, this is concering her older sister.............

She is 8. She was playing basketball. She all of a sudden looked over at me and said I can't breath. They had less than a minute left in that period so she played it out. When they took a break she went to the bench, sat down, and immediatly started crying (which is NOT like her) she was breathing very rapidly and was saying her throat was"clogged up" and she was going to pass out and was scared. We tried for about 15 minutes to calm her down but it was only getting worse. We took her to the ER where they told us she was hyperventilating. Too much oxygen(her pulse ox was 100) and not enough carbon dioxide......they gave her a shot of Adavan(sp?) to calm her down which helped........and she went to sleep and has seemed fine since..... I am pretty sure it is NOT asthma related because if it was the Adavan would not have calmed it down but I was curious if this could be something that is related to asthma in any way?

Sounds like a panic attack to me. I have asthma and a form of panic disorder manifested as a phobia(emetophobia) which is triggered by only one thing basically well and all things related to it(throwing up) so whenever i'm exposed to something with throwing up or feel like i'm gonna throw up, I have a panic attack. I had no idea what was wrong with me until one day I stumbled across it by chance on the internet that this had a name and what I experienced was a panic attack. Panic attacks vary from person to person, and can manifest in many ways..and they can make a person very phsyically sick. I've hyperventilated quite a few times from it..sometimes by my own will
(trying to escape what was going on around me), sometimes it just happened, but either way it's all the same..ask her if the tops of her thighs got tingly, or her fingers, that's often how I know i'm close to passing out,
but the big thing about a panic attack is the person will think 2 things: 1. I'm going to go crazy or die!! & 2. I've got to get out of here!!(and get away from whatever is setting me off). So if it seems like she is trying to get away from something, even if you or her can't identify it, it may very well be a panic attack.
Now panic attacks can happen even in someone who doesn't normally get them, they can be isolated or they can be recurring. I'm not a great person to talk to about cures..there isn't one as I see it, some people recommend cognitive behavioral therapy, others meds, others also both, and theres still a lot of other "treatments". I haven't had luck with any of the above, and I've given up on it and accepted it as a part of my life..we all have a phobia now don't we.

Danitom · 02-03-2004, 07:11 AM

Interesting. First let me say......we are not hypocondriacts.....I know it may seem that way LOL.....we have had a really strange year so far.........

I will try not to make a fuss over her about it.......which is hard......I do think she has acid relux....have thought so for a while....she will say she threw up but swallowed it and complains of her chest/throat burning.....especially after we have spaghetti........her discharge sheet did not have a diagnosis on it....just directions on follow up care which were very general.......as far as panic attacks....she is a very emotional child. I think she was discouraged at her performance in the basketball game. I found all of your input interesting and helpful. THANK YOU!

My younger daughter goes back to her doc today for her two week check with her new meds......